Proposed site for school is not the best fit

As a new occupant of a condominium on Route 48, I was most surprised to see plans for a 1,700-student school to be located right next door on a 16-acre parcel.

This construction will impinge on an extremely historic cemetery site, St Mary's Church and cemetery at Coffee Run. The whole area is extremely historic. It was the site of the first Catholic Church in Delaware. It provided a place of worship for many of the workers from the powder mills along the Brandywine and the quarries of Hockessin area.

Not only is the local traffic heavy, but large, really large, trucks use these roads to reach Route l and for access to Philadelphia and Baltimore. Just get on Route 48 at morning drive time or starting at about 3:00 in the afternoon and you will see a steady stream of traffic, including large rigs.

The new K-12 Odyssey school is 16+/- acres. An acre = 43,560 square feet. A football field is 57,600 square feet, just about 11/3 acres. Sounds like putting a "quart" into a "pint" container.

Three sports fields are planned plus the usual buildings to accommodate the education, enrichment and administration of 1,700 students and faculty and parking. There are some questions about the 25-foot "set back" as well. The school and the realtor/developer who sold them the land should take another look at what the impact could mean to the surrounding communities, including traffic.

Nice idea but way too big for the area.

Gerri Hutchison

Hockessin

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Proposed site for school is not the best fit

As a new occupant of a condominium on Route 48, I was most surprised to see plans for a 1,700-student school to be located right next door on a 16-acre parcel.